A MUM who went through the heartbreak of a miscarriage has said she was left appalled by the treatment of "unsympathetic" medical staff and wants to stop it happening again.

Michelle Debono, who lived in Wycombe Marsh, was expecting her seventh child, Teddy, when she had a miscarriage between 12 and 14 weeks.

She said in the weeks that followed she received unsympathetic and "awful" treatment from medical staff at both Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe Hospital.

On a routine visit to her GP surgery in July her midwife sadly told her she thought her baby had died and Michelle was sent to A&E at Stoke Mandeville for confirmation.

She said: "I had to sit in A&E with everyone else knowing my baby was dead. I had a scan to confirm it.

"I wanted to see a midwife. I was really scared- it had never happened to me before.

"But I just saw nurses and doctors and they referred to my baby as a miscarriage.

"It was awful."

Because she could still feel movement she couldn't believe she had lost Teddy and within a week went for another scan at Wycombe Hospital.

Michelle, 37, said: "I had to sit in a room with everyone else who were happily looking at scan pictures and were all excited.

"I was sat there with tears rolling down my face. I had to sit wearing sunglasses to hide my tears."

Michelle has six other children aged 17 months to 16 with her partner, Lee Smith, 38 who is a painter and decorator.

They have since moved away from the area following the trauma of losing Teddy.

When she next went to hospital at Stoke Mandeville she was given medication as she was still carrying her baby and asked to come back a few days later.

Michelle said: "Again I didn't see any midwives. I just saw nurses who seemed to have no sympathy whatsoever.

"They sent me home after I had taken the tablet and I was really scared.

"I was worried my baby might come out in the toilet or something."

She said the nurse was very unsympathetic and spoke to her in a matter-of-fact way about her baby.

Michelle added: "I just got really scared. I thought they are not even treating him like a baby- they are treating it as if I would just flush him down the toilet."

She then went back to Stoke Mandeville to deliver her baby on July 22, where she said she was treated better.

She said: "He was perfect when he was born. I held him in my arms."

Michelle would now like to see a more robust procedure in place with separate areas for parents going through a miscarriage and for a midwife to be involved throughout the process.

Carolyn Morrice, chief nurse at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: "I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Ms Debono for the sad loss of Teddy. Losing a baby in pregnancy is extremely distressing. We have staff and steps in place to ensure bereaved parents are sensitively supported. I am so sorry that Ms Debono did not feel that she was supported in a caring and compassionate way.

"I would encourage Ms Debono to please get in touch with us through our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 01296 316042 so that we can discuss her care in more detail."